"Dialogue between young people, cultural exchanges and mutual understanding form one of the foundations of good-neighborly friendship between Russia and China," said Oleg Yastrebov, rector of the Peoples' Friendship University of Russia.

MOSCOW, June 3 (Xinhua) -- The Russia-China Years of Education have become an effective mechanism for reviewing achievements in bilateral educational cooperation and formulating new exchange plans, a Russian university rector has said.

The mechanism is injecting new impetus into the development of bilateral relations and helping consolidate the friendship between the two countries, Oleg Yastrebov, rector of the Peoples' Friendship University of Russia, told Xinhua in an interview.

The launch of the Russia-China Years of Education this year, he said, coincides with the 30th anniversary of the establishment of the Russia-China strategic partnership of coordination and the 25th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Good-Neighborliness and Friendly Cooperation between the two countries.

"Russia-China relations are built on friendship and mutual trust," he said, adding that Russia's education sector has introduced more than 100 initiatives this year covering primary and secondary education, higher education and lifelong learning.

Both Russia and China focus on long-term strategic planning in their bilateral educational exchanges. More than 60,000 Chinese students are currently studying at Russian universities, while about 20,000 Russian students are pursuing studies at Chinese universities, he noted.

According to Yastrebov, his university has maintained strategic cooperation with Chinese institutions since its establishment and has admitted Chinese students in a wide range of disciplines.

At present, some 3,000 Chinese undergraduate and postgraduate students are studying at the university, mainly in foundational disciplines such as chemistry, information science and medicine.

"Chinese students show strong demand for linguistics and literature programs," Yastrebov said, adding that the university supports bilateral initiatives in Russian-language teaching.

There has been growing scientific research cooperation between Russian and Chinese universities. Research cooperation mainly focuses on emerging technologies in medicine, biology and agriculture, especially preventive medicine and healthy aging research, he added.

"Dialogue between young people, cultural exchanges and mutual understanding form one of the foundations of good-neighborly friendship between Russia and China," he said.